Algeria: 37 foreign hostages killed in attack

By The Associated Press
| 7:02 a.m.Jan. 21, 2013

In this image made from video, a group of people believed to be hostages kneel in the sand with their hands in the air at an unknown location in Algeria. Algerian de-mining teams were scouring a gas refinery on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 that was the scene of a bloody four-day standoff, searching for explosive traps left by the Islamist militants who took dozens of foreigners hostage. The siege left at least 23 captives dead, and the American government warned that there were credible threats of more kidnapping attempts on Westerners. (AP Photo/Ennahar TV) ALGERIA OUT, TV OUT
— AP

In this image made from video, a group of people believed to be hostages kneel in the sand with their hands in the air at an unknown location in Algeria. Algerian de-mining teams were scouring a gas refinery on Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 that was the scene of a bloody four-day standoff, searching for explosive traps left by the Islamist militants who took dozens of foreigners hostage. The siege left at least 23 captives dead, and the American government warned that there were credible threats of more kidnapping attempts on Westerners. (AP Photo/Ennahar TV) ALGERIA OUT, TV OUT
/ AP

Overseas Filipinos who were working at the sprawling oil field in Algeria which was attacked by terrorists, flash the "V" sign as they queue up at the Philippine Immigration upon arrival Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines. The Department of Foreign Affairs in their statement, said that 39 Filipino workers, out of the 52 accounted for following the Algerian hostage crisis, arrived after being evacuated from Algeria via Palma de Mallorca in Spain. The workers claimed they were hundreds of kilometers away from the hostage-taking site but ordered evacuated. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)— AP

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Overseas Filipinos who were working at the sprawling oil field in Algeria which was attacked by terrorists, flash the "V" sign as they queue up at the Philippine Immigration upon arrival Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, Philippines. The Department of Foreign Affairs in their statement, said that 39 Filipino workers, out of the 52 accounted for following the Algerian hostage crisis, arrived after being evacuated from Algeria via Palma de Mallorca in Spain. The workers claimed they were hundreds of kilometers away from the hostage-taking site but ordered evacuated. (AP Photo/Bullit Marquez)
/ AP

In this undated image made from video, a man looks out from a bus towards what appears to be smoke rising in the horizon at an unknown location in Algeria. An Algerian security official says de-mining squads searching for explosives found "numerous" bodies Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 at a gas refinery where Islamic militants took dozens of foreign workers hostage. (AP Photo/Ennahar TV) ALGERIA OUT, TV OUT— AP

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In this undated image made from video, a man looks out from a bus towards what appears to be smoke rising in the horizon at an unknown location in Algeria. An Algerian security official says de-mining squads searching for explosives found "numerous" bodies Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 at a gas refinery where Islamic militants took dozens of foreign workers hostage. (AP Photo/Ennahar TV) ALGERIA OUT, TV OUT
/ AP

Two British hostages Peter, left, and Alan, right, (no family name available), are seen after being released, in a street of Ain Amenas, near the gas plant where they have been kidnapped by Islamic militants, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. Algeria's special forces stormed the natural gas complex in the middle of the Sahara desert in a final assault Saturday, killing 11 militants, but not before they in turn killed seven hostages, the state news agency reported.(AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)— AP

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Two British hostages Peter, left, and Alan, right, (no family name available), are seen after being released, in a street of Ain Amenas, near the gas plant where they have been kidnapped by Islamic militants, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. Algeria's special forces stormed the natural gas complex in the middle of the Sahara desert in a final assault Saturday, killing 11 militants, but not before they in turn killed seven hostages, the state news agency reported.(AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
/ AP

Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is embraced by Executive Vice President in Statoil, Margrethe Oevrum, Saturday Jan. 19, 2013, after his visit at the drop-in center in Bergen for relatives of the Statoil-employees taken hostage in Algeria. In a bloody finale on Saturday, Algerian special forces stormed a natural gas complex in the Sahara desert to end a four-day standoff with Islamic extremists that left at least 19 hostages and 29 militants dead. With few details emerging from the remote site, it was unclear whether anyone was rescued in the final operation. (AP Photo / Anette Karlsen, NTB scanpix) NORWAY OUT— AP

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Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg is embraced by Executive Vice President in Statoil, Margrethe Oevrum, Saturday Jan. 19, 2013, after his visit at the drop-in center in Bergen for relatives of the Statoil-employees taken hostage in Algeria. In a bloody finale on Saturday, Algerian special forces stormed a natural gas complex in the Sahara desert to end a four-day standoff with Islamic extremists that left at least 19 hostages and 29 militants dead. With few details emerging from the remote site, it was unclear whether anyone was rescued in the final operation. (AP Photo / Anette Karlsen, NTB scanpix) NORWAY OUT
/ AP

Algerian special police unit officers guard the entrance of an hospital located near the gas plant where hostages have been kidnapped by Islamic militants, in Ain Amenas, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. Algeria's special forces stormed the natural gas complex in the middle of the Sahara desert in a final assault Saturday, killing 11 militants, but not before they in turn killed seven hostages, the state news agency reported.(AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)— AP

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Algerian special police unit officers guard the entrance of an hospital located near the gas plant where hostages have been kidnapped by Islamic militants, in Ain Amenas, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013. Algeria's special forces stormed the natural gas complex in the middle of the Sahara desert in a final assault Saturday, killing 11 militants, but not before they in turn killed seven hostages, the state news agency reported.(AP Photo/Anis Belghoul)
/ AP

In this image made from video, a group of people believed to be hostages kneel in the sand with their hands in the air at an unknown location in Algeria. An Algerian security official says de-mining squads searching for explosives found "numerous" bodies Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 at a gas refinery where Islamic militants took dozens of foreign workers hostage. (AP Photo/Ennahar TV) ALGERIA OUT, TV OUT— AP

+Read Caption

In this image made from video, a group of people believed to be hostages kneel in the sand with their hands in the air at an unknown location in Algeria. An Algerian security official says de-mining squads searching for explosives found "numerous" bodies Sunday, Jan. 20, 2013 at a gas refinery where Islamic militants took dozens of foreign workers hostage. (AP Photo/Ennahar TV) ALGERIA OUT, TV OUT
/ AP

ALGIERS, Algeria 
Algeria announced a new death toll Monday from the four-day siege at a natural gas plant, saying that 37 foreign hostages and 29 Islamist militants were killed. A Canadian was reported among those who took hundreds of workers hostage.

One Algerian worker was also killed, another five foreign workers are still unaccounted for and three attackers were captured, Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal told reporters at a press conference in Algiers, the capital.

At least one Canadian was among the al-Qaida-linked militants that attacked the remote plant in the Sahara desert and kidnapped scores of workers, he said. The attackers also included men from Egypt, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Tunisia, as well as three Algerians, he said. He did not say whether the Canadian was alive or dead.

He said a number of the hostages had been found killed by a bullet to the head.

The press conference was the government's first effort to provide a coherent narrative of events of the four-day standoff that transfixed the world after al-Qaida-linked militants raided a natural gas plant and took hundreds of workers hostage.

The prime minister said the heavily armed militants came from neighboring Mali carrying a great deal of explosives and mined the facility. They had prepared the attack for two months.

Sellal justified the Algerian military helicopter attack Thursday on vehicles at the plant filled with hostages and Islamists, saying that his forces feared the kidnappers were attempting to escape.

The Algerian special forces assault on the refinery on Saturday that killed the last group of militants and hostages came after the kidnappers attempted to destroy the complex.

The operation was led by an Algerian, Amine Benchenab, who was known to security services, he added.